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Market Fresh: Anchorage company uses Alaska products in dog treats

This autumn, Nicolas opened her new business, Drool Central: A Mum & Pup Barkery. She has been selling her homemade canine treats and meals at the South Anchorage Winter Market. She will be at the market again from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in the Dimond Center.

Nicolas spent the summer working in the Bush, but upon returning to Anchorage she was looking for a job that involved working with animals.

"There were no jobs available that suited my passion," she says. "So I thought I would green light the back burning wish I had ... start a bake-and-sell business. I thought to focus on dog treats and dog meals using Alaska's resources and produce these products for canine's nutritional needs excluding artificial flavorings, artificial substitutions, salt, sugar, spices, garlic, onions and other unnecessary stuff.

"Once I realized that there is a market for local Alaskan dog treats, I thought I could establish partnerships or support within the Anchorage and Alaskan community. A local fish purveyor, Favco, has been supplying wild Alaska fish; Alaska Flour Company out in the Delta Junction, with barley flour; and broken carrots and other fresh but not-pretty-to-sell veggies by the farmers from the Saturday Winter Market. The homemade dog treats are handcrafted painstakingly with each morsel containing Alaska's rich protein resources. Other ingredients are supermarket-grade."

Pumpkin Chicken Muttfin ($3.50): The package includes four mini-muffins made of chicken, pumpkin, oats, Alaska barley flour and eggs.

Fish Bowl ($5.95): The 14-ounce meal comes frozen and should be thawed before feeding to Fido. It includes a selection of cooked and pureed wild Alaska salmon, cod or sablefish. The meal also has carrots, green beans and oatmeal.

For more information or to order online, visit www.droolcentral.com. Nicolas says a portion of online sales will be donated to Dollars for Dogs of Anchorage.

At the markets

Saturday is the final South Anchorage Winter Market. But in the middle of winter, market organizer Arthur Keyes is already thinking ahead.

"It's hard to believe that in just six weeks we will begin planting for the 2014 season," he says. "I guess time really does fly when you're having fun!"

Tilgner's Ruby Red Smoked Sockeye will again be at the market again with the cold-smoked red salmon. For more information, check out tilgnerssmokedfish.com.

Alaska Sprouts will be at both the South Anchorage and the Center Markets. "For the new year, we've been experimenting with some new microgreens: tatsoi, mizuna, amaranth and cress," says owner SJ Klein. Other items to look for include: bean, clover and onion sprouts; pea, daikon radish and sunflower shoots; a three-bean mixture; micro arugula, mustard and radish, along with bull's blood; and fresh tofu.